About Digital Democracy

About the Creator

I am a naturalized citizen of the USA and have been living in this country for almost 30 years. I have a background in technology and building software systems and apps. I am currently taking a break from full time paid work to focus on more 'meaningful' work. I am very concerned about the direction our country is heading in and I believe that we as citizens can do better.

I recently visited Capitol Hill and met with house representatives for my state of Massachusetts. I saw the dysfunction in congress first hand. BUT, I was also surprised by how receptive the representatives' offices are in listening to constituent feedback. And I also learned that important bills get sidelined because constituents don't know and can't voice their support for them. 'Only way things will change in Washington is if we hear from constituents' - I heard this from many offices I visited.

I truly believe that dialog is the key to solving the polarization plaguing our country. Also democracy in the truest sense is 'people power'. And we as citizens need to exercise it. I also understand the challenges of keeping up with activity in Washington DC, especially when most media outlets are biased.

With the recent developments in technology, there is a unique opportunity to simplify, summarize and categorize bills, amendments, hearings and comments, to make it easy for us constituents to keep a tab on issues that we care about the most. It also provides a direct channel for our elected representatives to poll us to know our opinion on key issues. It just might work!

I hope you will join me in this experiment.